


A Story For A Different Life

by JellyWisp



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Anxiety, High School Musicians, Highschool AU, M/M, Multi, Musicians, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Singing Competition, Social Anxiety, Yang Jeongin | I.N-centric, and also gay, bet, everyone is stressed, jeongin has anxiety, theres so much going on here tbh, why did I write this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:07:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23075986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JellyWisp/pseuds/JellyWisp
Summary: Yang Jeongin has always loved music. He's just never been able to show it.His sophomore year he made a vow to himself to start singing for crowds.Jeongin fulfilled his vow and then some, but he did it in a way that didn't reveal who he is, he protected himself from the anxiety that would come with being crowded everywhere he went by fans.Buny is the newest member of the high school music scene. He performs with a mask on, a bunny mask. No one knows who he is, which makes him even more of a crowd-pleaser.Stray Kids is the most popular band among high schoolers, being that the entirety of Stray Kids are also in highschool!Recently they've taken a liking to Buny, they want him in their group.When a bet is made, it changes everything around the boys.When a bet is made, It changes them.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Han Jisung | Han/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Hwang Hyunjin/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Kim Seungmin/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Kim Woojin/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Lee Felix/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Lee Minho | Lee Know/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Seo Changbin/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Yang Jeongin | I.N/Everyone
Comments: 4
Kudos: 64





	1. Floppy Ears

**Author's Note:**

> So we're trying this writing thing out again -_-
> 
> Hopefully, I can actually continually enjoy writing this story. 
> 
> To keep my hopes up for this one and not get too drained, I will only be updating once a month, at the end of the month.
> 
> My next update will be 03-31-20 (March 31st, 2020) and I will post on the last day of each month after that!
> 
> For now, enjoy this short but simple introduction!

**Summery**

Yang Jeongin has attended Miroh High school for the past three years. Now as a junior, he's finally brave enough to share his gift of music with others. Well, brave in a shy sort of way.

  
  


A new musician has appeared in the high school music scene, his name is Buny. Most like his style of music, but they hate the fact they don't actually know who he is. He wears a mask, a bunny mask, while he performs. 

  
  


Stray Kids is one of the most liked bands in the high school music scene, almost every teen in the surrounding area knows them. Recently they've taken a liking to the newest musician, Buny. They want him to join their group, but there's one problem.

  
  


They don't actually know who he is, no one does.

  
  


Eventually, they start talking with him backstage and ask if he'd like to join their group. But Buny knows that if he joins them he'd have to reveal himself, and that's something he doesn't think that's something he's ready for… So he makes them a deal and gives them a hint.

  
  


"I go to the same school as you guys."

  
  


The first (and, according to Buny, only) hint they'll get. Now for the deal.

  
  


"You have a month to find out who I really am."

  
  


"But that's outrageous! That's only till the end of the semester, how are we supposed to figure it out before then?" One of Stray Kids blurts out.

  
  


"You want me in your group, this is how you get me. If you find out who I really am, then I'll join, Bunny honor!" Buny held out his pinky finger, closing it tightly around his other. He made a pinky promise to himself! 

  
  


"But…" He carried on. "If you don't, I may still join. I just don't know how ready I am to reveal myself yet. If you can find out who I am, that means anyone who's really looking can, which means there's no point in hiding who I am."

  
  


And with that, the soft coo of the wind settled knowing that, for now, no storm was coming. Little did it know, thunder can strike unexpectedly.

**Chapter One**

**Floppy Ears**

"So, have you heard of this new-comer?" 

"I heard he's amazing!"

"I wish I knew who he was, I would SO fall in love with him more!"

Word spreads fast, especially when you're in high school. And most especially when you go to Miroh High. Every hallway is filled with whispered secrets and rumors. The newest subject being the newcomer in the highschool music scene.

  
  


Dubbing himself Buny, most were taking a liking to him. His style flowed nicely and he really knew how to enchant people while he performed.

  
  


A nickname to a nickname, a lot of the students were calling him Floppy Ears or Floppy because the teachers were constantly yelling to knock off the chatter about the singer, this was how they got around it.

  
  


It was 8:45 am. The beginning of the day. And in one lonely classroom on the farthest left side of the school, the chatter got loud. In comes Yang Jeongin. 

  
  


Now a Junior, this was his third year in this school. He has participated in many clubs and been apart of many fandoms, but something no one would expect from him, his most favorite thing in the world is music.

  
  


He loves to perform, to write new songs, to see the smiles on people's faces as his words reach them. There's just one problem with that…

  
  


His entire life Jeongin has suffered from extreme social anxiety. And at the moment that was quite obvious to those around him.

  
  


The noise that was growing louder within the small classroom, and it pricked at Jeongins ears. The tint of red spreading over them, fading down into his jawline and neck. He was stressed, he felt cornered, he was panicking.

  
  


"Alright!" The teacher spoke up, immediately the students quieted. 

  
  


Jeongin removed his hands from his ears, not even realizing he had covered them. He took in a deep breath, telling himself the affirmations his therapist always told him to say when he was stressed.

  
  


_ I am okay. _

_ This is temporary. _

_ I can handle this. _

_ I am brave. _

  
  


They repeated through his head like an ever-growing tree, branching out into new ideas and ideals, none ever the same. But just like a tree, the leaves can wilt and branches can break. 

  
  


Suddenly all of the new branches that had just sprouted from his tree were falling towards the ground as the classroom door was slammed open and in came his worst nightmare.


	2. Temptations Of A Teen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We explore the backstory into Jeongin and why he's so desperate to hide his identity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm posting this a day early because I finished it yesterday and don't want to forget to post it tomorrow. 
> 
> This is one of the longest chapters I've ever written for anything -_-
> 
> Maybe next month I can get even longer!
> 
> Enjoy chapter two of A Story For A Different Life!

**Chapter Two**

Temptations Of A Teen

  
  


A miserable-looking man walked straight to the teacher’s desk, turning towards the students with a stern look. He was instantly recognizable as the principle of the school.

  
  


"Yang Jeongin!" He said rather loudly.

  
  


Jeongin turned his head slightly and shuddered out the word "Y-yes?"

  
  


He played with his sweater strings nervously, he wrapped his around his index finger. Swirling the string around he hooked his index around it tightly, tugging at it in a fidgety manner.

  
  


He had no clue why his name was called.

  
  


"Please follow me." Principle Lee asked calmly. "Oh," he added. "And bring your bag with."

  
  


Jeongins nerve shot through the roof. Why was he being pulled out of class like this?

  
  


Was he in trouble?

  
  


He can't remember doing anything wrong.

  
  


Was something happening inside the school?

  
  


Why would he be the only one being taken out of class then?

  
  


His mind was racing with thoughts and it wouldn't shut up so for the moment he decided to ignore them as much as he could. He mustered up the courage to stand and grabbed his bag, walking slowly to the door and following the principle out.

  
  


It was around 1 pm when he was finally allowed back in class. By then his nerves were settled and he could focus. 

  
  


It turns out someone had reported him and said he had been harming himself. Which wasn't true, though he's struggled in the past and now, he's never resorted to that.

  
  


Sure, he was rattled, anyone would be when they got pulled out of class like that.

  
  


What he was the most worried about was who had reported him.

  
  


Were they just genuinely worried?

  
  


Did they want to get him in trouble somehow?

  
  


Did they just want to scare him?

  
  


He didn't know, and all of the possibilities were turning into bricks and making a wall in his mind. It was like they stacked and stacked and kept him from running away from them. The thoughts had made a tunnel and he was stuck in it, an endless loop of all of the bad things this situation could mean.

  
  


Sure, he was rattled.

  
  


The wall of thoughts imprisoning him had been knocked over with a bulldozer as he remembered what day it was. What tonight was.

  
  


Suddenly his mind was racing but in a good way. He couldn't help but smile at the new possibilities floating around his brain. Multi-colored balloons making their way to the ceiling of his mind. Growing big with anticipation and impatience for the fun he's gonna have tonight. And when they reached the top they'd explode and the thought would burst free into the world, his world, his mind.

  
  


Tonight was Friday, meet day. Today was going to be his third performance in front of people. His third song to be sung. 

  
  


Three weeks ago he had fulfilled a promise he'd made the year before. Fulfilled part of his destiny and pushed forward on the path of life.

  
  


_ -Sophomore Year- _

  
  


Jeongin was stationed where he normally sat at his desk, he was working away at his homework. The turning of the pages infected his ears like the pounding of a jackhammer breaks through the earth. 

  
  


Read the page, write notes, turn. Read the page, write notes, turn. It repeated and repeated until he thought he might go insane. Finally, a low groan left his lips and the thud of a heavy textbook hitting the floor filled the room. 

  
  


Jeongin placed his hands over his eyes, rubbing over them softly and leaning all of the way back in his chair.

  
  


A quiet and gentle voice started up, a noise awakening within the small space. The words swept around the room, infecting all of the cracks and crevasses. 

  
  


In an attempt to calm himself Jeongin has started singing. Something he rarely did.

  
  


He's always been self-conscious about his voice, hated the way it sounded in his ears and the way his mouth moved while he sung. He kept himself from singing even when it was all he wanted to do.

  
  


But these scarce times where he let himself just breath and let the words fall from his brain and lead out of his mouth, these are the times he cherished. The times that flooded his mind, the times he hated and kept close at the same time.

  
  


He hated these moments because these little moments are the only ones he feels _real_ in. The only time he feels _human_.

  
  


But the moment was soon over as the sound of the door being unlocked was heard and quickly Jeongin was back to huddling over his textbook studying and answering questions.

  
  


Jeongins roommate walked up behind him, leaning over his chair and giving him a hug around his neck from behind.

  
  


"Hey YanYan." 

  
  


That stupid nickname never failed to make Jeongin grin ear to ear. It was the nickname his best friend Minjae had given him last year when they became roommates.

  
  


He was YanYan or Yan and Minjae was JiJi.

  
  


"Hmm…" Jeongin hummed out quietly. 

  
  


"Was that you singing?"

  
  


Those words tore his heart open. His worst fear had become a reality. Someone had heard him singing. 

  
  


His stomach dropped and suddenly he was all too sweaty and stiff for his liking. 

  
  


"I um…" He was trying to stutter his way through this without letting Minjae see how anxious he was. 

  
  


"I don't know what you're talking about!" Jeongins voice squeaked and cracked. There was no hiding how scared he felt in this moment.

  
  


_ Real calm sounding hm… fuck. _

  
  


Pure terror filled his mind.

  
  


This had only happened once before and it resulted in an entire friendship being broken up, he really didn't want that to happen again.

  
  


"Okay well…" Minjae spoke.

  
  


Jeongin didn't even want to think of what might leave the boys mouth next.

  
  


"I won't push you or bring it up if it makes you uncomfortable, but I just wanted to say your voice is really pretty." 

  
  


He didn't know whether or not to cry with joy or utter fear over this situation. 

  
  


"And if you ever wanna talk about things like that, I'm here." The younger of the two added in. 

  
  


Minjae gave a soft smile in Jeongins direction as he opened his bedroom door. His eyes lit up with love for his best friend and Jeongin knew that. He knew Minjae would never say anything he didn't think was true.

  
  


But all too swiftly he was left alone again, thoughts racing through his head. They pounded at his skull and tore through his eyes. He was uncomfortable.

  
  


Jeongin got up from his spot at his desk and crumpled onto the couch, he told himself it would just be a nap.

  
  


\-  _ 10 hours later _ -

  
  


Jeongin woke up to quiet snoring from behind him and a comforting arm around his waist. He realized Minjae had moved him to his bed and had fallen asleep next to him like usual.

  
  


He carefully removed the younger boys’ arm from around him and sat up, turning his head to groggily look at the clock planted on the furthest side of his room. 

  
  


"4 am" he sleepily whispered to himself as shifted into a more comfortable upright position on the bed.

  
  


He unlocked his phone and was greeted with a picture of his idol, Jimin, waving to a camera.

  
  


He wished he could be like him, a talented, elegant dancer and singer. But there were two problems with that…

  
  


The first problem was that Jeongin was an absolutely  _ horrid _ dancer. He couldn't move his feet fast enough to keep up with any type of beat and had no rhythm in his moves. Anytime he danced he ended up defaulting to easy moves or 'dad' dances.

  
  


The second problem was even though he'd been told all his life he sounded good, he hated his voice.

  
  


It wasn't stage fright.

  
  


It wasn't anxiety. 

  
  


He just hated his voice, he hated hearing it, hated singing in general. It made him feel guilty like he didn't deserve the gift of a pretty voice.

  
  


He didn't deserve it and he certainly didn't want it. Well, that's a lie. All he wanted in life was to sing in front of people, wanted to hear the cheers and let his words reach peoples ears. He wanted to change the world with his music.

  
  


But that was just the stupid dream of a kid.

  
  


"Yan?…" a hoarse voice mumbled from beside him. Minjae sat up and put his arms around Jeongins waist, his head resting on the olders shoulder. 

  
  


"You okay?" The younger asked.

  
  


Jeongin didn't want to get into this, not now. Not after he heard him today. So he lied. 

  
  


"Yea… just need to use the bathroom, I'll be right back."

  
  


He stood and walked to the door as fast as he could.

  
  


He'd never lied to a friend like that, never in a million years did he think he'd lie about how he was feeling.

  
  


The words repeated through his head as he took the short walk through the tiny dorm to the bathroom. "Yea… just need to use the bathroom." That was such a bad lie. 

  
  


He let himself sink down against the door as soon as it was closed. 

  
  


If Minjae knew he lied, he'd be so disappointed in Jeongin.

  
  


Hell, Jeongin was disappointed in himself. He scolded himself for lying, something he never did. But a breath of fresh air was inhaled as he sat on the cold bathroom floor.

  
  


These little moments of isolation Jeongin got were comforting. When he gets overwhelmed he heads to the nearest empty bathroom and then sits alone for a few minutes.

  
  


It gives him a new perspective, lets him see things he didn't before. It was always what he needed.

  
  


And now was no different as the thoughts of being a singer once more flowed through his head.

  
  


He stood up quietly and leaned over the sink, looking directly at his reflection. He took a deep breath.

  
  


"My name is Yang Jeongin, I'm a sophomore."

  
  


He took another deep breath, trying to make the final decision if he really wanted to make this promise to himself.

  
  


But he'd made up his mind long ago without even realizing. Only seconds later the next words were said.

  
  


"And I promise to myself that by the end of Junior year…"

  
  


He took a good look at himself in the mirror. His hair was flowing in all different directions and littered with random fuzzy pieces from his pillow.

  
  


His cheeks were a deep red, no doubt from his being so frustrated with himself before.

  
  


The red from his cheeks had spread down and around to his neck and ears.

  
  


His eyes were tired and wet from crying which he hadn't even realized he'd been doing. 

  
  


"I promise I will start singing in front of people."

  
  


He knew he couldn't break a promise to himself, he never has. He was going to do this one way or another. 

  
  


_ \- present-day - _

  
  


The ringing of the bell had Jeongin up and out of his seat as fast as he could manage. Now that he realized what day it was he was more than excited for the rest of the day.

  
  


All of the nervousness had left his body as he sprinted to his dorm to get ready. He had made a list last week of all of the things he needed to get done.

  
  


Jeongins List Of Things For Fridays

(JLOTFF)

  1. Pick out clothes 
  2. Shower
  3. Makeup
  4. Hair (once dried)
  5. Make sure you have everything (Pass, keys, mask)
  6. Have fun!!



  
  


He ran through the list again and again in his head, he wanted to remember to do everything on it. 

  
  


First, clothes.

  
  


Finally, he had reached his dorm… but not gracefully. 

  
  


He was mentally going through his list again, not even realizing how close to his dorm he was.

  
  


"Yan! Are you okay??" A worried Minjae opened the door hastily to find Jeongin on the ground.

  
  


"I ran into the door…" a spooked Jeongin 

blurted out.

  
  


He was sat on the floor, his hair a mess and a small and almost unnoticeable bruise forming on his forehead.

  
  


He had run into the door. How graceful. 

  
  


Minjae helped him up and made him sit on the couch for a moment to make sure he really was okay. 

  
  


"Ya know…" Minjae started. "The last few Fridays you've seemed really out of it, like your mind is somewhere else. Are you okay?" 

  
  


Jeongin knew Minjae was just worried about him. He knew that he should probably tell Minjae who he was or well… who was he?

  
  


He was Yang Jeongin, a high school Junior. But he's also Buny, a hot new magician that all of the surrounding high schools love.

  
  


And no one knew.

  
  


He had to admit the last few weeks have been hard trying to keep his secret. But he just wasn't sure he was ready to tell anyone. Hell, he'd barely admitted it to himself yet.

  
  


Ever since he started performing a weight was lifted off his chest and a new one was added. He was free to sing once a week now, free to share his music with other. But a secret was now seared into his brain and weighing in his chest. The longer he's kept it the more it keeps barreling down and suffocating him.

  
  


But he still wasn't ready, so he's going to try to get by with low oxygen for now.

  
  


Speaking of ready.

  
  


"You're going to the concert tonight?!" Was shrieked out at top volume by Minjae.

  
  


Jeongin was frantically searching through his closet trying to find  _ anything  _ that would look okay on him.

  
  


Too small.

  
  


Too baggy.

  
  


Bad color.

  
  


Weird smell.

  
  


Shirt after shirt, pants after pants, all tossed to the side to be forgotten until tomorrow morning.

  
  


He shuffled around his room searching through both clean and dirty laundry but couldn't find anything that he deemed cute enough to wear.

  
  


He decided to take a look through the clothes he'd yet to unpack yet. They were only four weeks into the new school year so now everything was unpacked yet.

  
  


He grabbed a chair and headed over to the closet. Stepping up onto the chair he reached for his suitcase. Three still lay unattended to in the closet, one was his and the other two were Minjaes. (He was more behind on unpacking than Jeongin.)

  
  


He moved the chair back to its rightful place and brought his suitcase into his room, laying it softly on the bed.

  
  


Finally, Finally! He had found the perfect outfit after 10 minutes of looking.

  
  


He grabbed the clothes and ran into the bathroom. He couldn’t take a long shower but he definitely needed one after sweating all day.

  
  


Although it wasn’t long he let his mind fall away as he stepped into the warm shower, he was thankful for the steady stream of hot water now trickling down his body. It was relaxing and just what he needed for this brief moment.

  
  


He made quick work of washing his hair and body, he knew he didn’t have too much time left and he still needed to do his hair and put on a bit of makeup. (even though no one was going to see his face.)

  
  


Once he was out of the shower he put his clothes on.

  
  


A dark black turtleneck peeked out over the plaid blue shirt he was wearing over it. His black jeans being a nice compliment to them with the nicely placed beanie pin he always wore on him somewhere. Today it was placed neatly on the thigh of his pants. He also slipped on his plain black gym shoes.

  
  


He tugged lightly on the collar of the plaid shirt, dragging it slightly out from his chest. His breathing felt slightly restrained with the turtle neck pressing tightly around his neck, but he figured he'd get used to the feeling the longer he wore it.

  
  


Next, he took his slim belt and slid it around his waist, never was he more grateful for belt loops as these pants weren't the snuggest against him and he definitely needed some extra support to keep them up.

  
  


He hurried to do a little bit of makeup, just some simple eyeshadow, and lipgloss but it instantly brought out a new look in the boy.

  
  


Next was his hair. He had just finished blow-drying it when Minjae knocked on the door. “You have like two more minutes before we leave if you want to make it to the concert on time YanYan.”

  
  


“Yeah, yeah, I'll be out in a sec Ji!” Jeongin called out to the boy on the other side of the door. 

  
  


Lastly, he curled his bangs and brushed out the curls slightly. 

  
  


He knew most of the things he did couldn't be admired from the audience with his mask and the distance but he enjoyed doing them, it was like a little comfort before these shows.

  
  


Jeongin grabbed his bag from his normal hook against the door and triple-checked that his mask was inside.

  
  


He stopped for a second and balled up his fists and took in a deep breath. This was a coping strategy he had learned for his anxiety when he started therapy last year. You ball up your fists and tense your body up tight while you take a deep breath in. Then, as you breathe out, you release all of the tension and it's like all your worries are blown out of your body.

  
They rushed out of the door, excited for the concert but for different reasons. But that’s when Jeongin remembered-

  
  


He’d need an excuse for why he wouldn’t be with Minjae. 

  
  


He decided that he’d say he needed to use the bathroom, perform, and then wait for Minjae out in the lounge. He could say that he had found a spot that was more convenient for him to watch from and didn’t have time to tell Minjae before the concert started. That would work… yea.

  
  


Now they needed to make it to the venue on time. It was across campus in the gym hall and he knew they wouldn’t make it with much time to spare so they needed to hurry.

  
  


Once he got there he'd use his excuse and then sneak backstage with his mask on.

  
  


His hand gravitated towards his back pocket were his performer pass lay, almost silently mocking him with the fact he was once again going to be lying to a friend of why he wasn't near him at the concert. 

  
  


But he knew that it was worth it to get this escape, this break that he so desperately needed. When he was up there singing on stage he didn't pay attention to his voice, he just sang and smiled as people cheered him on. He was happy up there, genuinely happy and free to be himself for such a short but sweet period of time.

  
  


He could already feel his heartbeat throughout his body, his blood was pumping and he had such a playful smile slipping from his lips.

  
  


He was ready for another show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As for the character introduced in this chapter, Minjae. He's one of my OCs and I love him with all my heart. Maybe ill do more of a backstory and description on him in the future but for right now he's just a background character so that Jeongin could have an affectionate best friend and roommate.


	3. Story-Line Twitter

I've made an in-character Twitter for Buny! Its supposed to be him posting about his shows and interacting with his fans so if you'd like to learn more about the character of Buny as a separate thing from Jeongin in this story than I'd definetly suggest following along!

I wont be posting anything that spoils future chapters or that gives crucial information regarding the story, but I figured I'd be a fun way to bring more life to the character and a fun way to give out more information with the story.

If you'd like to follow along you can find it on twitter @PerformerBuny 

Also I have a personal twitter that you can follow if you'd like to @GalaxyOfFry

See everyone on the 30th when the next chapter releases!


End file.
